Public Mobile Review - The Most Affordable Phone Plans In Canada

Are you sick of your expensive phone contract? What if I told you you could pay $0 a month for a phone plan? Free service? Here we come! In today's video, I review Public Mobile. If this sounds like something you're interested in, make sure you watch this video till the end. Who is Public Mobile? They are a Canadian self-serve cell phone service provider. They launched March 18, 2010 after a federal government initiative to increase competition between the wireless carriers. Public Mobile was later sold to Telus in 2013. Being Telus-owned means it's on Canada's largest mobile network, giving you the most coverage from coast to coast. Public Mobile is prepaid only, which means no credit checks, no contracts, and no surprise bills. They have no physical stores or any phone customer support. Everything is self-serve. For actual support, they have an online community where other members help each other out. Public Mobile doesn't have any cell phones, so you must bring your own device. Once you have a phone, you can check its compatibility on their website. You might have to go to the phone's original service provider to get the phone unlocked. This can be done for free at the retailer or calling customer service. After you have your cell phone ready, you need to buy a SIM card. You can either order one online or pick one up at certain retailers in your area, like Walmart or the mobile shop. They can help you set up your plan, or you can do it all yourself online. Before you activate your SIM card and get a phone plan, be sure to have a referral code ready to get a $10 credit on your first bill. If you want to use my referral code, it will be in the video description below. This $10 credit will essentially cover the cost of your SIM card. Now you must pick a phone plan suited for you. You can pay with a credit card or a payment voucher at select locations like Walmart, Canadian Tire Gas Bar, Esso, or convenience stores. Their plans include $10 for 50 talk minutes, unlimited incoming texts, and 50 outgoing texts. Perfect for someone who rarely uses their phone. $15 for 100 minutes, unlimited incoming calls, and texts. Perfect for the person who rather text than call. $25 for your cheapest unlimited talk and text plan with 500MB of data. Perfect for someone who doesn't need data. Bump up your data to 1GB for $35, 4.5GB for $40, and 8GB for $50 with also unlimited US talk. And for the US traveler, $60 for 8GB of data and 2GB of US data. And unlimited Canada US talk and texts. They also have $30 data only plan of 1GB of 4G data. All plans include call display, voicemail, and conference calling. And a long list of add-ons to further customize your plan. When comparing Public Mobile to the Big 3, Bell Intellis data plan starts at $70 for unlimited talk and texts and 5GB of data. And Roger's cheapest data plan is $75 with unlimited call and texts and 10GB of data plus unlimited data at reduced speeds. With Virgin and Kudo, you can get unlimited talk and texts and 4GB of data for $50 per month. And you can get the same plan for $50 with Fido. So for the cheapest plans, you need to compare Public Mobile with Chatter and Lucky Mobile. With $40, Lucky Mobile will give you unlimited talk and texts and 4.5GB of data. This is on par with Public Mobile. And with $40, Chatter will give you unlimited talk and texts and 4GB of data. Unlimited data at reduced speeds. So why choose Public Mobile over Chatter and Lucky Mobile? Rewards. Public Mobile has 4 different types of rewards that Chatter and Lucky doesn't offer. Autopay rewards give you $2 credit every 30 days. So essentially you can take $2 off your bill every month with Autopay. Plus with Autopay, you get an extra 500MB of extra data. Chatter and Lucky will also offer extra data with Autopay. Loyalty rewards give you a $1 credit every 30 days after being a member for a year. $2 after 2 years and up to $5 for 5 years. Community rewards give you from $1 to $20 every 30 days. The more you contribute to the Public Mobile online community, the more rewards you get. And lastly, referral rewards give you $1 credit per 30 days for every friend you refer for as long as they stay with Public Mobile. Also, the referred friend will receive a one-time credit of $10. So with these rewards, you can essentially get your phone bill down to $0 per month. Everything sounds good so far, but what are the cons? They only use 3G data. This data is good enough for checking social media, browsing the web, and even streaming videos and movies. I like turtles. But for a more seamless experience, you're better off with someone that offers 4G data. They have no app. In order to access your account, you must use their website. Which isn't bad on the desktop, but if you're using your mobile device, it isn't as convenient. No fingerprint ID login. You need to be constantly zooming in to see text. And it's harder to navigate. This isn't a deal breaker, but it is a disadvantage. They have no physical stores or phone support. If you have an issue with your bill or your account, you can't just call a number for help or go into a store for support. All issues are taken to the online community where other Public Mobile users can help you. And if you still can't resolve your problem, you need to submit a ticket, which can take some time before a solution is found. They don't sell phones. This means if you want to use the newest iPhone, you need to buy it right out. And the current retail price for the iPhone 11 is around $1400. They don't offer tabs that can be included on your phone bill. Public Mobile makes more sense on older, cheaper used phones. In conclusion, Public Mobile is for the budget friendly user. Just bring your own phone and pick the plan that best suits your needs. With Public Mobile, you're paying the least amount as possible. And if you take advantage of the rewards, you can lower your phone bill all the way to free. If you are frugal and don't care if you have the latest phone or the fastest data speeds, you just want the best deal possible. With Public Mobile, you got it. So if you liked this video, hit the like button and share this with a friend. And if you haven't already, make sure you subscribe and hit the bell icon to get notified when new videos come out. And if you want to further support the channel, check out some of the affiliate links in the video description. Thanks for watching. If you got any questions or comments, comment them below. Until next time, keep making money moves. Peace!